A VRD is a beam of light projected directly onto the retina in a raster-like fashion (like a cathode ray tube television) that “paints” a virtual picture. The viewer sees a realistic image without the need for an actual physical display or screen.

At AV, we use an incredibly small and compact optical engine with a laser light source reflected by a rapidly oscillating micro electro-mechanical mirror (“laser-MEMS”). This is known as “laser beam scanning.”

With our current 24 x 13.5-degree field of view, the painted image appears to be about the size of a smart phone screen held vertically at arm’s length, even though there is no physical display screen in front of the eye.

Yes. Like any light source, laser light is perfectly safe when used properly. Our optical engine is designed to display no more than 2000 nits, making it a Class 1 laser product. A Class 1 laser as defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a low-powered device similar to a laser printer that is safe for continuous viewing.

We are conducting extensive testing throughout our development process to ensure our products are in full compliance with international safety standards. Additionally, our prototypes include built-in electro-mechanical interlocks and optical power detectors to provide safeguards against any chance of overexposure.

There is nothing proprietary about laser beam scanning; it's been around for decades. That's also true of pancake lenses. In fact, most of the basic components of AV's micro virtual retinal display are widely available.

Our patented optical designs are what differentiate us from every other solution on the market today. Until now, manufacturers have been unable to design and build a compact wearable device or expand the “exit pupil” (the viewable area of an image your eye can see) to make VRD practical. We have solved these problems and more.

Most companies, whether they use laser light or LED’s, rely on waveguides - a translucent glass or plastic material with specific light transmitting properties - to be the intermediary screen that displays an image in front of the viewer’s eyes. Waveguides produce disappointing image quality, add weight and bulk to head-mounted displays, and partially block the view of the real world.

Amalgamated Vision's optical engine does not need a waveguide to produce a wide field of view with a superior high-resolution image. We are building the only true micro VRD system that sits comfortably on the face, ultra-near to the eye (within 16 mm), in a position that doesn’t block normal lines of sight.

Traditional flat screens like a phone or laptop have only one plane of focus. When you look at a picture on a flat display your focus on a mountain in the distance or a flower in the foreground of the scene is the same.

AV optical design allows individual pixels in the display to have different focal planes, enabling near or far field focus for different objects in the same image. This is how our vision works in the real world. It’s a huge step towards bridging the gap between artificial display and natural visual experience.

No. We are an optical design company building a core technology with the potential to power the smallest, brightest, most efficient wearable displays in the world.

With "AV Inside", HMD manufacturers can power any style of headset including look down reference display, or any XR format (VR, AR, MR) with the addition of “pass through” video.

Our business model is to build, license, and/or sell our laser MEMS optical display engines and proprietary optical solutions.

A head-worn display with AV inside can be focused to meet each individual’s unique needs. Our small footprint allows any headset to easily accommodate a prescription insert to allow people who wear glasses to view the real world as they normally would.

We built our first working proof of concept in 2017 to demonstrate that virtual retinal display is a safe and commercially viable technology. We will be completing two additional PoCs at actual scale for NASA and the United States Air Force by mid-2025, proving the performance of our compact light engine optics and the feasibility of our multi-focus functionality.